Poll NotesEven though the market was more tumultuous this year, reps' opinions about their firms remain remarkably steady in our eighth annual survey of brokerage performance. In general, brokers praise the firms' ethics, rating that highest at 9...
Merrill Lynch has teamed up with the College for Financial Planning to offer Merrill's brokers a proprietary designation. Brokers who complete a 12-module course will receive a Certified Financial Manager designation they can use on business cards...
Merrill Lynch brokers will begin the New Year with major compensation changes.The centerpiece of the new compensation plan is the push to capture wealthy households through a complicated "Priority/Premier Household Incentive Program." According to...
Three former brokers at the Salomon Smith Barney branch in Richmond, Va., have filed for NASD arbitration hearings, accusing the firm and its Atlantic Coast regional director with mismanagement, Registered Representative has learned.Although...
Small broker/dealers say regulators' crackdown on firms who failed to file or were late to file year 2000 forms was unfair and heavy-handed.The SEC slapped 37 firms for failing to file part or all of their Y2K readiness reports by Oct. 2, the...
One of the first things a broker learns is how to sign up customers. But some attorneys and compliance pros warn that brokers and firms are falling short in getting customers to sign new account agreements.Many firms, including most of the...
Nine out of 10 recipients of lump-sum distributions invested at least some of the money, with the majority (59%) investing all of the money, according to a survey conducted for the Forum for Investor Advice. The survey is the first to measure the...
PaineWebber reps just now are learning the details of a new stock option plan the firm will begin offering in January 1999.The plan, called PaineWebber Equity Plus, is an after-tax deal that will allow PaineWebber employees to defer up to 10% of...
Two broker/dealer associations working together have filed with the NASD an independent slate of four candidates for the NASD Board of Governors. The NASD in September announced its own slate of 12 nominees for upcoming openings on the 30-person...
When an arbitration case uncovers wrongdoing by a broker or a firm, you might figure the regulators would follow up and investigate the wrongdoers.But that's unlikely. Unofficial policy at some NASD district offices is to not follow up on a two...
